Ice tray



Dec. 1, 1942. H. B. COPEMAN ICE TRAY Original Filed Feb. 17, 1937Patented Dec. 1, 1942 ICE TRAY nazel B. Copeman, Flint, Mich., assignorto Copeman Laboratories Company, Flint, Mich, a corporation of MichiganOriginal application February 17, 1937, Serial No. 126,142. Divided andthis application October 10, 1938, Serial No. 234,191

' 4 Claims.. (CI. 62-1085) This invention relates to ice trays which areadapted to be placed in the freezing compartment of domesticrefrigerators of the mechanical or gas type.

The present application is a division of my copending application SerialNo. 126,142, filed February 17, 1937, which has now matured into PatentNo. 2,266,007.

In the prior art'related to trays for freezing ice in domesticrefrigerators, the tendency has been to design trays which form a largenumber of ice cubes. Many trays have been designed which embody devicesand means for removing ice cubes, such as rubber trays and flexiblemetal trays or trays having flexible covers thereon, but these haveeither proved to be inconvenient or have resulted in a lengthening ofthe freezing time due to the low conductivity of rubber or due to thecovering of the tray.

The object of the present invention is to provide an ice tray whichavoids forming a large number of ice cubes. The present inventioncontemplates a tray of the type that will freeze water contained thereinin a very short freezing time to form a large block of ice, said traycontaining means for forming the block of ice so that it may be easilybroken up into small blocks or cubes for use or storage of the same.

More specifically the invention relates to the freezing of the completeblock of ice in a very short time and scoring or perforating the blockas it is frozen so as to make it easy to break the block into smallregular portions of ice when desired.

Other features and objects of the invention having to do with details ofconstruction and operation will be further brought out in the followingdescription and claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the invention showing particularly the topmember which is associated with the ice tray.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the lines 2-2 of Fig. 1 illustrating therelationship of the cover member and ice tray.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the lines 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate modified constructions of the dependingmembers.

Fig. 6 represents a unit to be used in combination with an ice blockformed in the tray of Figs. 1 to 3 to break a formed ice blockintoindividual ice cubes.

Fig. 7 is a partial view similar to Fig. 2, showing the use of a softflexible rubber lining,

The present invention is the type in which a tray sized ice block isprovided with tapered perforations which are regularly spaced to markout ice cubes. Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a metal tray 34 supports acover 35, said cover having a large opening 36 so that the cover 35amounts to little more than a rim around the top portion of themetaltray 34. The metal tray 34 may be lined with a flexible rubber tray23, see Fig. '7, similar to that shown in my copending application,Serial No. 126,142, filed February 1' 1937, or it may be lined with apermanent coating of wax as in the Hathorne Patent No. 1,932,731, datedOctober 31, 1933. Supported centrally of the cover 35 and rigidlyattached thereto is an elongated U-shaped bar 31. This bar has dependingrubber projections 38 embedded in it at intervals along the bar andextending downwardly through the opening 36 in the cover 35substantially to the bottom of the tray 34. These projections aretapered in such a manner that they are Wider at the top than at thebottom and may be mounted in the bar 31 in a number of ways. Fig. 4illustrates an enlarged view showing how the rubber projection 38 isheld in the bar 31. Fig. 5 illustrates another method of supporting theprojections 38 where the metal pin 39 serves as a core to the rubberprojection 40, said pin extending through the bar 31 and being bent asat 4|. to hold the same in place. The preferred crosssection of theprojections 38 is rectangular since this particular type of projectionmay be most easily removed from the completed block of ice. It will benoticed that in Fig. 1 the projections 38 are alternately at rightangles to each other to more clearly mark out the comer ice cubes thatwill ultimately be formed from the ice block made in the ice tray 34. Ofcourse, these projections 38 might be held in position in any number ofways, as for example, they might be formed on a flexible rubber cover.

' When the tray 34 is filled with water and frozen a large block of icewill be formed. This block of ice may be removed from the tray 34 eitherby running hot water over the tray or by pulling on the flexible rubbertray lining if one has been provided. The bar 31 may then be lifted awayfrom the large ice block, and this lifting force will strip the rubberprojections 38 from their places in the ice. It will be understood thatthese rubber projections, when pulled, will reduce in cross-section fromthe top down and strip themselves from the ice thus permitting an easyremoval of the same. The result will be a large 2 ice block that hasperforations at regular intervals in the ice. Ice cubes may be formedfrom this large ice block either by the use of an ice pick or by placingsaid complete ice block in a metal tray similar to that shown in Fig. 6and in which there are upwardly projecting metal prongs located toexactly coincide with the perforations in the ice block. By making theseprongs of the slightly larger dimensions than the rubber projections 38and rations in the ice block, the ice block may be broken into cubes byplacing it in tray 42 and exerting a sharp downwardpressure on-the ice.-

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a tray for containing a substance to becongealed .or frozen and adapted to be placed in a sharp freezingchamber, of a relatively rigid member having depending projectionsextending into said tray substantially perpendicular spaced perforationsin a substance frozen in said tray, .said depending projections beingsubstantially tapered from. said cover and .formed of soft flexiblerubber.

2. The combination with a .tray for containing a substance to becongealed-or frozen and adapted to be placed in a sharp freezing:chamber, of a cover member having :an opening therein',:transversemembers thereon lying over said opening,

the corresponding holes or perfoto the bottom thereof to form andtapered projections depending from said transverse members, saidprojections being formed of soft rubber and extending into said traysubstantially perpendicular to the bottom thereof.

3. The combination with a tray for containin a substance to be congealedor frozen and adapted to be placed in a sharp freezing chamber, of acover member provided with a substantially large central opening,transverse members on said cover extending over said opening, taperedsoft rubber projections depending from said transverse memberssubstantially to the bottom of the tray, and a soft rubber lining memberadapted to be placed between said tray and the substance to be frozenand adapted to loosen said tray from said frozen substance when thelining member is distorted from its normal shape.

4. The combination with a tray for containing a substance to becongealed or frozen and adapted to be placed in a sharp freezingchamber, of a removable skeleton grid member for defining breakinggrooves in the contents of the tray, said grid member comprising one ormore relatively stiff bars extending across said tray, meansassociatedtherewith for locating said bars relative to said tray, and elastic,relatively flexible members on said bars extending'into said'tray. V

HAZEL .B. COPEMAN.

